FBI: Ex-prison guard sold assault guns to ex-inmate

A former Illinois prison guard is accused of selling guns, including five assault rifles, to a former inmate working undercover for the FBI.

Dwayne Meeks, 48, was arrested Wednesday by FBI and charged with dealing firearms without a federal license and selling firearms to a convicted felon.

Meeks allegedly sold the ex-inmate, posing as a gun trafficker, two .223-caliber assault rifles, a 5.56-caliber assault rifle, a .50-caliber assault rifle with an ammunition drum attached, a 7.62 -caliber assault rifle, a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, and a .22-caliber rifle last summer, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

"On more than one occasion, Meeks described the assault rifles as 'tact’d out,' meaning they included such features as night scopes and laser sights," according to a federal affidavit.

Meeks charged $15,000 for the guns and $3,000 for a "delivery fee," the office said.

Meeks discussed selling more guns but complained that he was having a hard time finding weapons after the mass shooting at a theater in Aurora, Colo. , and then after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn. in December, prosecutors said.

But in the last two weeks, Meeks told the former inmate he was coming to Chicago from his home in Arkansas to sell more guns, according to the U.S. attorney's office. He was arrested when he arrived at a Forest Preserve with three AR15 assault rifles, the office said.

Meeks and the former inmate had apparently met at the prison where Meeks worked, then met again in Chicago last year, the office said.

"Meeks began discussing selling various firearms and showing the (former inmate) photos of the weapons on his cell phone and via emails," the office said.